OCC's Gould says only Democrats pressuring him on crypto trust charter

Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) nominated by Donald Trump, implied that the US president had not ordered him to approve or give special consideration to a national trust charter application tied to his family's financial interests. At a Thursday hearing of the House Financial Services Committee on "oversight of prudential regulators," New York Representative Gregory Meeks questioned Gould on the Trump family crypto company World Liberty Financial's connections to foreign governments and the Binance exchange. The company, whose co-founders include Trump and his sons, applied for an OCC charter in January, prompting backlash from many Democratic lawmakers alleging conflicts of interest.

Meeks said the company "actively lines the pockets of the president's family," pressing the comptroller to hold World Liberty to the same standards as other companies in its application for a national bank trust charter, "to prove if [he's] still working on behalf of the American people, or [ceded his role] to serve as a fixer for the Trump family."

Meeks and Gould talked over each other at the hearing, with the New York lawmaker accusing the OCC head of being "Trump's fixer," signaling his belief that World Liberty's application would be approved. "Your attempts to continue to pressure me are the only political pressure I've felt from anyone other than your Senate colleagues," said Gould. "That is very unfortunate and unprecedented." Gould's remarks came after the OCC had already approved or conditionally agreed to several national trust charter applications from crypto companies, including Coinbase, Ripple, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. The comptroller took office in July 2025, having been confirmed by the Republican majority Senate along party lines.

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The OCC head said in January, in the days after World Liberty's application was submitted, that the agency would be "apolitical and nonpartisan" in its consideration. However, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who also asked Gould to pause reviewing World Liberty's application, said the approvals were for "seemingly ineligible companies," violating federal banking laws.

Approval for a national trust bank charter allows crypto companies to provide certain services without being subject to the same regulatory requirements as traditional banks. In addition to World Liberty, crypto exchange Kraken's parent company, Payward, filed an application with the OCC in May.

A comprehensive digital asset market structure bill, called the CLARITY Act, is expected to head for a vote in the full Senate soon after advancement in two crucial committees this year. On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration was aiming for passage sometime this summer, with some senators expecting a vote before August.